Spyology: The Complete Book of Spycraft (Ologies) Hardcover – October 28, 2008

Purchased this for my grandson when he was 7. It was not until this year that he became interested in it. Now he is finding it to be fascinating. Perhaps he was just too young last year. He does require help to work with the book.

My kids loved it and was so excited with all of these little features throughout the book.

The "Ology" books are very entertaining. As an old kid who has always been a fan of spy books and movies this is a fun book to pass time on a summer day. It includes envelopes of clues to review and cryptograms to solve. It includes a removeable "red magnifying filter decoder" and two adjustable "codex cryptotrons" to decipher messages. It's set up like a scrapbook and includes numerous true stories of spycraft over the years. I highly recommend this whole series of Ology books, for both adults like me and especially for preteens. It's very educational and inspires the imagination.

I got this for my boyfriend's 7-year-old. It was his first Ologies book and he couldn't love it more. He's able to figure out some of the really awesome codes and puzzles but not most (I would imagine most kids under 10 would need at least a little help.) He enjoys all the fiddly stuff the series is famous for. Six months later and he's not technically read the book from front to back, but it's easily his favorite. As far as he's concerned, just owning this very official-and-expensive-looking volume is enough to make him feel like he's privy to insider information. He finds great fun in wondering if the stuff is real or not, and has begged and begged for more Ologies. (Dragonology, Mythology, and Egyptology are waiting to be opened for his 8th birthday.) Ologies books are worth the money, and an easy no-brainer gift if you happen to know the kid's interests.

After reading recent reviews indicating that the final clue was missing from their new copies, that was the very first thing I checked when I got ours. My heart sunk when I, too, checked the spine and saw no clues hidden in there. I went to Youtube thinking I could find help there - maybe I was doing it wrong. The videos I saw had a special drawer in the spine and the more closely I looked at the older videos w/older versions of the book, I realized there was no way this new edition ever came with that drawer. It wasn't "missing", it just didn't have that any longer. And then, I came across a review from Canada where she had actually contacted the publisher and was told that they no longer produce the edition with the hidden drawer in the spine (ok, 1 mystery solved..), BUT that the hint at the end STILL says to check the spine. Instead of the final message being hidden in the spine, it's simply printed on a separate piece of paper in the same place as the final clue. That's pretty poor publishing to not change the instructions! MY SOLUTION: since this was a gift for my son, I simply went to the very last page, found the place where the final message was stored (spoiler alert!) it's behind the last flap, you have to lift the bottom where the "signature" line is to reveal a hidden storage area, and then found the long thin piece of paper with a code on it. Took that piece of paper and folded it length-wise so it was a tad thicker, and then hid it in the spine myself. I pushed it in with the eraser end of a pencil and made sure it wouldn't fall out accidentally. Phew, problem solved (I think!!). Hope this helps others who purchase the new version for someone else!

We received this item today as gift for our son. It came in great condition and was even wrapped! We are very pleased

I really like this book! Ton's of great features and pullouts and a very fun mystery to solve! The lens on the cover is very fun to use and it's fun to have a book with all those secrets in it

Bought this 2 yrs ago and my son loved it but was still a little to young , he now has devoured ot and gets to the end where it tells to get the secret drawer. But the drawer is MISSING. So buyer beware!!! Makes me so frustrated. Probably victim of a return!!!! Ugh

This whole series is amazing, my kid loves them. Hell I love them! The pages are full of info, beautiful and creative with secrets in each page. This one has been particularly fun. Will continue to by them, worth every penny.

Book came in perfect condition and is very interesting and challenging. Highly recommended!

A great book full of interesting fact, our daughter loves this book

My son loving it

Good for young kids! Adventure.